Are HelloFresh Meal Kits Worth the Cost? How “Fresh” are They? Learn All in this Ultimate HelloFresh Review
Meal delivery kits have become the new “go to” for dinner for nearly 4 in 10 Americans and they’re also catching on in other countries, like Canada, the UK, and Australia. They nicely bridge the gap between not having enough time to meal plan, shop, and cook and the expense of eating out.
Just choose your meals online, and the ingredients show up at your door with step-by-step instructions. Everyone gets to cook and eat together without all the added stress. At least that’s what they promise.
Currently pulling into the #1 spot in the US is HelloFresh meals delivery. After years of being second behind Blue Apron, they now have 36% of the food kit subscription market share, with the nearest HelloFresh alternative at 35%.
They also happen to be the only top meal kit service in America that’s based overseas and they serve about 11 international markets, including HelloFresh Canada, HelloFresh UK, and HelloFresh Australia.
So, just how reliable is HelloFresh? Do their meals taste good and are their ingredients fresh? What about HelloFresh customer service? Do they take care of issues right away or are they hard to reach?
We’ve got the answers! In this AdvisoryHQ News HelloFresh review, we’ve delved into the world of meal kit delivery and HelloFresh meals in particular. We’ll tell you all about their menus, HelloFresh costs (and how they compare to competitors), and the complaints and praise customers have about them.
If you’ve ever considered trying out a “cook yourself” meal kit service, read on to find out the answers to, “Is HelloFresh worth it for the cost?”, “Do I have a decent choice of meals?”, “Can I get a HelloFresh free box or discount?”, and more!
AdvisoryHQ HelloFresh Reviews | Who is HelloFresh?
Back in 2011, HelloFresh founders started the company to give everyone access to the best ingredients and knowledge of how to cook them. The founders delivered packed shopping bags by hand to their first 10 customers.
HelloFresh recipes were first conceived in Germany and the company is headquartered in Berlin, but they’ve grown quite successfully in the past several years and now have operations in multiple countries. Hello Fresh meal kits can be found in:
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Canada
- France
- Germany
- Luxembourg
- New Zealand
- The Netherlands
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
- USA
Charitable Works
The company also participates in charities worldwide. Here are a few examples from some of their key operational bases.
- HelloFresh US: Donated food after Hurricane Harvey, teamed up with Table to Table for Thanksgiving donations.
- HelloFresh Canada: Sponsors local charities such as Easter Seals of Canada and their The Drop Zone project.
- HelloFresh UK: Redirected surplus food from retail to those in need via The Felix Project.
- HelloFresh Australia: Participates with Oz Harvest to donate perishable food to those in need.
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How Does HelloFresh Work?
How does HelloFresh work, exactly? It’s pretty simple. You pick a meal plan, including the number of servings you want, how many nights per week you want them, and the meal types.
HelloFresh plans are flexible, so you can skip weeks or change the frequency of delivery anytime you like.
What do you get for the HelloFresh cost? You’ll receive weekly deliveries to your door with step-by-step instructions for cooking your meals, nutritional information for each one, and the pre-measured ingredients.
HelloFresh recipes are tested “200 times” to make sure they’re both delicious and easy to make. Meals take between 20-45 minutes to prepare.
In our HelloFresh website review, we found that you can sign up and order either through their website or a HelloFresh app.
What’s the HelloFresh App?
You can enhance your meal kit experience by downloading the HelloFresh app from either the Apple iTunes or Google Play stores. HelloFresh reviews for the app are pretty high, with a 4.3 out of 5 on iTunes and 4.1 out of 5 on Google Play.
With the HelloFresh app, you can:
- Order HelloFresh recipe boxes
- Manage and update HelloFresh meal selections
- Find cooking hacks
- Explore a large database of HelloFresh recipes
- Use a handy timer and interactive cooking mode
- Track your shipments & manage your account
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How Much Does HelloFresh Cost?
If you’re shopping on a budget then you’ll like the fact that HelloFresh’s cost for their meals is one of the lowest around.
We recently reviewed the four top meal delivery services in the US, and between a Blue Apron, Plated, Home Chef, and HelloFresh review, HelloFresh came in with the lowest average per meal prices.
They offer 3 distinct plans:
- HelloFresh Classic box
- HelloFresh Veggie box
- HelloFresh Family box
You get the most meal options to choose from with the HelloFresh Classic box. They offer 15 HelloFresh meals choices. With the Veggie box, you get three choices, and with the HelloFresh Family box, you have 6 different meal options.
How much does HelloFresh shipping cost? For most deliveries, we’re able to cover the shipping cost. You’ll know if a shipping fee applies to you once you select your plan and when you check out.
They charge $5.99 or $7.99 per shipment, depending upon the size. In our prices overview below, we’ve included the shipping, so you get a full picture of your HelloFresh cost.
HelloFresh Meal Kit Prices
HelloFresh Classic Box Plan:
- 2 people at 2 recipes per week, $47.95/week
- 2 people at 3 recipes per week, $59.93/week
- 2 people at 4 recipes per week, $77.91/week
- 4 people at 3 recipes per week, $95.87/week
HelloFresh Veggie Box Plan:
- 2 people at 3 recipes per week, $59.93/week
- 4 people at 3 recipes per week, $84.87/week
HelloFresh Family Box Plan:
- 4 people at 2 recipes per week, $68.95/week
- 4 people at 3 recipes per week, $95.87/week
Is There a HelloFresh Free Trial?
If you’ve been wondering if there is a HelloFresh free trial or HelloFresh free box to be had, we’ve done some digging on that.
We did not find anything official about a HelloFresh free trial or box on the company’s website, but they do offer a $15 off coupon if you sign up for their email updates.
However, there are multiple other coupon sites that advertise either a HelloFresh free box, free trial coupon, or money off a subscription. Be aware that online discounts and coupons change frequently, so you’ll want to search “HelloFresh free trial” for yourself to see what’s out there.
Here are a few currently being offered:
- HelloFresh free box from The Spenderella
- 50% off a HelloFresh Box from CouponOkay
- 10% off for students (HelloFresh UK) at The Telegraph
- $50 off HelloFresh Canada at RetailMeNot
- $50 off HelloFresh Australia at The Thrifty Issue
Wondering how to cancel HelloFresh? We’ve got that information and other popular questions coming up in our frequently asked questions section.
Wait! They Have Wine?
We can’t conclude the pricing section for HelloFresh without mentioning their wine delivery service. If your state or municipality allows it, you can also have wine delivered to your door to go along with those great HelloFresh meals.
Wine subscription is a service that we haven’t seen available with many other HelloFresh alternatives.
How much does HelloFresh wine subscription cost? Here’s a rundown of their wine pricing (you get 6 bottles (750ml) with each plan):
- Mixed Wine Plan, $89/month, free shipping
- Red Wine Plan, $89/month, free shipping
- White Wine Plan, $89/month, free shipping
What are Examples of HelloFresh Recipes?
The convenience of a meal kit delivery service quickly fades if they don’t have recipes you or your family like. HelloFresh thoroughly taste-tests their recipes and works with world-class chefs like Jaime Oliver.
You can see HelloFresh recipe reviews on their website, and they change them weekly to keep things interesting. They also offer a link to their HelloFresh recipe archive where you can review all of their previous meal recipes.
Here are the meals of the week they are currently offering and the estimated time to make them.
Classic Box Plan:
- Creamy Corn and Potato Chowder, 45 minutes
- Cherry Balsamic Pork Chops, 30 minutes
- Chicken Cheddar Fajitas, 40 minutes
- Chicken Sausage Orzotto, 35 minutes
- Chorizo and Beef Chili Dinner, 35 minutes
- Garlic Herb Buttered Sirloin Steak, 40 minutes
- Gorgeous Greens Farro Bowl, 40 minutes
- Honey-Glazed Pork Tenderloin, 30 minutes
- Italian Meatball Soup, 30 minutes
- Lobster Ravioli and Shrimp, 30 minutes
- Meatloaf Balsamico, 40 minutes
- Oven-Baked Apricot Chicken Legs, 40 minutes
- Pulled Chicken Rice Bowls, 25 minutes
- Salsa Verde Enchiladas, 30 minutes
- Tex-Mex Tilapia, 20 minutes
Veggie Box Plan:
- Creamy Corn and Potato Chowder, 45 minutes
- Gorgeous Greens Farro Bowl, 40 minutes
- Salsa Verde Enchiladas, 30 minutes
Family Box Plan:
- Garlic Herb Buttered Sirloin Steak, 40 minutes
- Honey-Glazed Pork Tenderloin, 35 minutes
- Lemon Pepper Chicken Linguine, 30 minutes
- Oven-Baked Apricot Chicken Legs, 40 minutes
- Pulled Chicken Rice Bowls, 25 minutes
- Southwestern Beef Tacos, 35 minutes
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HelloFresh Review | Frequently Asked Questions
Before we get into HelloFresh reviews from those who’ve tried their meal kit service, we’ll answer some common questions about HelloFresh below.
Q: How Do You Cancel HelloFresh?
A: If you want to know how to cancel HelloFresh, you have a few different options. Just know that if you want to stop or pause delivery of your next box, you need to cancel HelloFresh by 11:59 p.m. Pacific at least 5 days prior to your next scheduled delivery.
How to cancel HelloFresh:
- HelloFresh website, in your account settings
- HelloFresh customer service chat
- HelloFresh customer service by phone
- Hello Fresh customer service by email message
Q. How Does HelloFresh Work with Skipping Shipments?
A: You can log into your account online or using the HelloFresh app to view a calendar of your next 8 weeks of scheduled deliveries. Simply choose “Skip week” for the weeks you’d like to skip meal kit deliveries.
Q. Does HelloFresh Have Options for Special Diets?
A: We did not see any gluten-free options for HelloFresh meals, though they do have vegetarian meals. They state that they offer the option to customize plans via the following preferences: beef-free, pork-free, fish/shellfish-free, fit, quick, or variety.
Q. Can I Change My Meal Choice?
A. HelloFresh does allow you to make changes to your chosen meals as long as you do it by 11:59 p.m. Pacific at least 5 days prior to your next scheduled delivery
Q. Is There an Extra Cost for HelloFresh Meals Marked “Gourmet”?
A. Yes, the gourmet meals, which include the highest quality ingredients, are an additional $11.98 for a 2-person plan and $23.96 for a 4-person plan.
Q. What Does HelloFresh Do in Case of Damaged Shipments?
A. The company states they will make things right in the case of a damaged shipment but you have to call the HelloFresh customer service for assistance.
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HelloFresh Reviews from Meal Kit Buyers
Now that you have an idea of the cost, plans, and recipes HelloFresh offers, it’s time to see what people are saying about them in HelloFresh reviews.
Is HelloFresh worth it for the cost? Do their ingredients arrive fresh and are they safe to eat? Let’s find out! We’ll go over HelloFresh review ratings first, then get into highlights of customers’ reviews.
HelloFresh Reviews & Ratings
- ConsumerAffairs (2,887 HelloFresh reviews) – 4 out of 5
- HighYa (121 HelloFresh reviews) – 2.8 out of 5
- Trustpilot (13,030 HelloFresh reviews) – 8.5 out of 10
- Yelp (159 HelloFresh reviews) – 1.5 out of 5
Now, let’s hear first from those that aren’t fans of HelloFresh, then we’ll find out what happy HelloFresh reviewers have to say about this food service.
Negative HelloFresh Reviews
- In a HelloFresh review on Trustpilot, the reviewer started using the service because they received a gift card. Even though the meals were delicious, they did not think HelloFresh was worth the cost, when it was cheaper to just buy ingredients at the store.
- Another person that first tried the service due to a coupon, did not expect to continue to be charged. In their review, they said their experience with HelloFresh customer service while trying to cancel the subscription was awful.
- Lack of delivery day choice and wilted produce were complaints mentioned in a HelloFresh review at Yelp. They said although the meals were good, the portions weren’t large enough.
- In another HelloFresh review, the reviewer said the meals were awesome but the delivery and HelloFresh customer service were horrible. They frequently received boxes with missing items and didn’t appreciate the scripted responses that only offered a $5 credit.
Positive HelloFresh Reviews
- In a positive HelloFresh review at ConsumerAffairs, the buyer said about 90% of the time they received all items in the box and they were all fresh. They enjoy the meals and believe they save money not having to purchase full bottles of food spices.
- A reviewer that was skeptical at first said HelloFresh is a good value for busy people. They said the meals have lots of veggies are very filling and satisfying.
- In a 5-star HelloFresh review on HighYa, the reviewer was very pleased that the meal kits got their family cooking together. They said it’s a great concept, very well executed and that the meals are delicious.
- Flavorful and nutritious meals were some of the praise given in another HelloFresh review. The meals took a little more time to cook than noted on the recipe card, but it allowed them to try foods they wouldn’t try otherwise.
HelloFresh Alternatives
Do you like to shop around and are wondering about HelloFresh alternatives?
There are a few other meal kit delivery services that you can check out. Although many of these are US only and don’t have a global presence like HelloFresh US, HelloFresh UK, HelloFresh Canada, and HelloFresh Australia.
HelloFresh Alternative Meal Kit Services:
- AmazonFresh
- Blue Apron
- Home Chef
- Plated
- Purple Carrot
- Sun Basket
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AdvisoryHQ’s HelloFresh Review Conclusion
Find yourself eating out way too often because you’re short on time? A meal delivery service, like HelloFresh, might just be a great option for less money. If you have at least 30-40 minutes to cook, then you can have the meal planning and shopping done for you.
In HelloFresh comparisons to other meal kit services, they get excellent reviews when it comes to how their meals taste. Their prices per meal are also some of the lowest you’ll find for this type of services.
While all meal kit services can have issues with keeping food fresh during shipping, HelloFresh meals seem to get fewer complaints of that than others and we did not run across anything that would indicate their food isn’t safe to eat.
Where it gets a little spottier is HelloFresh’s customer service and missing box items. While some HelloFresh reviews said they fixed issues right away, others said they were difficult to deal with. Overall, we found more complaints about missing items than wilted or not fresh food.
In our opinion, HelloFresh has become the number 1 food kit delivery service in the US for a reason. They respond faithfully to negative reviews about HelloFresh, trying to make things right with the customer. They also get rave reviews about great tasting meals, even from those who’ve decided to leave the service.
If you’re looking for ways to get the family around the dinner table for some home cooked meals, but not spend all that time planning and shopping, HelloFresh is one of the best values you’ll find in the meal kit delivery market.
Image sources:
- https://cdn.hellofresh.com/us/cms/press/press-v1/productimage-2.jpg
- https://cdn.hellofresh.com/us/cms/press/press-v1/wine-1.jpg
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